


Summer Fling

by Siryn



Category: Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: F/M, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-01-19
Packaged: 2017-11-26 01:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siryn/pseuds/Siryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The summer before their sophomore year, one day at the beach changes everything for Lila and Ken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Fling

"I don't believe this," Lila Fowler muttered to herself. For the second weekend in a row, her friends had blown her off. Sure, it was summer and that meant the beaches were beyond crowded, but really, wasn't that half the fun? If you simply wanted a tan, or to go swimming, you could just hang around Fowler Crest and use the pool. No, you went to one of Sweet Valley's many gorgeous beaches to see and, most importantly, be seen.

And there wasn't much that Lila liked more than being seen. As the only daughter of one of the area's richest men, Lila had become very good at being the center of attention. The problem was, you needed admirers to be admired, and lately they'd been slacking on the job.

 

Lila sighed. She'd had the day planned out perfectly! She and her best friend, Jessica Wakefield, would hit the beach for a few hours, then stop off at Lila's or Jessica's (it didn't matter which) to shower and change before hitting the Dairi Burger. Since they were rising sophomores, they'd finally be able to hit the local high school hangout without feeling like they were encroaching on the upperclassmen's territory. Not that Lila ever felt this way, of course, but some people did. Lesser people, though Lila was trying to be better about saying such things _aloud_.

After the Dairi Burger, Lila was pretty sure that some handsome juniors or seniors would ask them out to the Beach Disco (freshly tanned and dressed to kill, who could resist the one-two punch of Lila Fowler and Jessica Wakefield?) and if by some horrible twist of fate that didn't happen, Lila's chauffeur would drive them anyway. Once there, well, it was a Saturday night in the middle of the summer. Anything and everything could happen.

Instead, Lila found herself alone at the beach. Oh, sure, there were hundreds of people around her, but none of her friends had shown up. Quite a few had begged off, claiming to be bored with the beach, or their family vacations were still going strong. This had been just fine with Lila until Jessica shot her down.

"Li, my parents grounded me for that last trip to the mall," Jessica had claimed. Even after all these years of being friends, Lila found it a little bit strange that Jessica could spend less than an _eighth_ of what Lila did and still get in trouble with her parents. Lila's father rarely said anything about her spending habits anymore.

Not that it mattered in this case because Lila was pretty sure Jessica was lying. In the background, before Jessica had hung up, Lila had heard another voice. Female, and not Jessica's mother or her identical twin. No, this was that new girl, Cara Walker. Lila's eyes narrowed in anger. If Jessica didn't want to hang out, fine, but she should really come up with a better lie next time. Put some thought and effort into it.

She reached into her big beach bag (some horribly expensive purchase made hastily late spring but Lila couldn't be seen toting around just anything, even if it was just to the beach) and looked for her watch. Maybe it was late enough that she could call Daddy's driver to take her home. "Rats," she muttered. It was barely one thirty, and that was entirely too early to go home. Still, if she was going to be alone, she might as well be at home. At least there she didn't have to worry about some little terror escaping and dumping ice cream or sand on her.

She slowly got to her feet and stretched, admiring the way the sun had darkened her tan just enough to really set off the white bikini she was wearing. At least the day wasn't a total wash, she decided.

 

"Lila!"

She turned at the sound of someone vaguely familiar calling her name. With a hand held up to shield her eyes from the sun (where had her sunglasses gone?) she took a quick look around. Huh. Where was that…?

For a second the world seemed to spin just a little faster, the colors seemed a little brighter, and the sun's rays felt a little bit warmer. Loping across the sand was one of the hottest guys Lila had seen in quite some time. That someone so gorgeous knew her name wasn't all that surprising (daughter of a millionaire and gorgeous to boot, remember?) but the realization that Lila knew him already? _That_ was kind of blowing her mind.

Ken. Matthews. When the hell had he gotten hot? Somehow in the time since Lila had really paid him much attention, which to be fair, she wasn't sure when exactly that was, he'd finally grown an extra couple of inches. Now he was no longer kind of short for a guy, and to top it off, he'd begun to fill out so he wasn't quite so skinny anymore. Lila could finally see him playing football without getting creamed in the first fifteen seconds of any given game.

"Ken!" she found herself shrieking before she could stop herself. "Way to play it cool, Fowler," she thought to herself. Still, it was nice to see someone she knew after the last couple of hours of near seclusion. Also, for the record, she was just being polite. Really.

"I'm glad I found you," he said, causing Lila to go a little weak in the knees before she caught herself. "It was looking like I was going to have to spend my first day off all summer alone," he added, giving her a big smile.

Lila found herself smiling back without even realizing it. "We wouldn't want that."

Ken's gaze slipped to Lila's little slice of the beach and noticed that things seemed awfully tidy for someone who looked like she'd been at the beach for longer than a few minutes. "Oh, wait, were you leaving? Because I-"

"And leave you alone on your first day off all summer?" Lila shook her head. "I was just... stretching."

Ken's smile returned and Lila felt herself blush. If she was lucky, he'd just think it was due to the sun.

"Well, in that case..."

 

 

They day passed in a blur for Lila. They never did run into any of their friends, not even Winston Egbert who usually appeared whenever Lila least wanted him to, but she wasn't sure she would have noticed even if they _had_ shown up. She'd been having too much fun with Ken. Unlike a lot of other guys who suddenly found themselves on the right side of puberty, Ken was still, well, nice. He'd been picked on enough as a kid (for being exceptionally short for one thing, Lila recalled) that he'd developed a wicked sense of humor, but he wasn't cruel about it either.

Lila had to stop herself a few times before she said something she was pretty sure he wouldn't find as funny as, say, Jessica would. But it was worth it to see the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Like he couldn't believe she was still talking to him, that he seemed to expect her to just leave at any second, so he was going to enjoy every possible second until she snapped out of whatever fog was keeping her around. 

Like she was special.

No guy had ever looked at her that way before. Ever. She'd had boyfriends before, sure, but none of them had lasted long enough to count. In fact, Lila was pretty sure her longest relationship with a guy was her ongoing feud with the ever insufferable Bruce Patman. And _that_ , she was sure, did not count at all.

Ken even managed to talk her into actually going into the water, something Lila almost never did.

"You mean you come to the beach, you sit and fry for hours, and you never even go into the water?" he asked incredulously.

She gestured vaguely to her silky brown hair. "Do you know how hard it is to keep all of this looking fabulous? I'm not going to ruin it with salt water. Besides, it's just crawling with germs," she shuddered. "Just look at all those kids. How many of them do you think have gone to the bathroom before their parents unleash them and they head straight for the water? Gross!"

Ken couldn't stop the laugh that had been threatening to overtake him since they'd started the conversation. "Come on, Lila. You can't just _not_ go in the ocean. It's not natural! Besides, isn't salt water supposed to be good for your skin or something?" Before she could remind him of the seven little reasons to say no, all running for the water at full speed no less, he cautiously reached out and took her hand in his. "We'll head this way, away from the families, okay?" he said softly.

Lila could only nod in silence. She was pretty sure that she was going to pass out and this was just from holding his hand. She wanted to shake herself. This was Ken Matthews. Kenny! They'd known each other forever. He was nothing to get all that worked up about. And yet... she could feel his heartbeat thrumming in time with hers as they held hands. That meant he liked her too.

Right?

 

She couldn't take it anymore. "Last one to the water's a rotten egg!" she found herself saying as she broke into a sprint. For a second their hands stayed intertwined and then she pulled too far ahead before he realized what was happening, and they were separated.

But, Lila noticed, he immediately chased after her. No hesitation at all.

She shrieked as he came up behind her and scooped her up effortlessly as if she weighed nothing at all. "Put me down!" she shrieked before realizing what that would mean.

"If you insist," he agreed but held onto her until they'd gone far enough into the water that it was safe to drop her into the ocean.

Lila came up for air, flailing her arms around. "Not what I meant!" She started splashing him furiously.

"Ack!" he yelped as one of her watery assaults hit him right in the face. "I had to, Lila. Otherwise you would have done that girlie thing where you just wade up to your knees and said something like, 'There, are you satisfied?' Admit it, this is way more fun." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously as he attempted to ward off any further seawater attacks.

Lila narrowed her eyes at him and considered. He'd pretty much hit the nail on the head with his version of what would happen, but he didn't need to know that. "What makes you so sure that's what would have happened?" she finally asked.

He shrugged and dipped under the water without answering. When he came up he found Lila still treading water right where he'd left her. "It's just something girls seem to do."

Lila swam closer until she was within kissing distance, if either of them got up the nerve. "I thought you knew, Ken. I'm not like other girls."

For a second both were sure the other would close the distance and they'd be kissing. Instead the words settled between them and the ocean pulled them apart once more.

"Good thing I like a challenge," Ken murmured as Lila began to swim towards shore, "because you aren't getting away from me that easily."

 

It took another hour after their dip in the ocean before Lila was dry enough to seriously, though briefly, consider riding the bus with Ken. Instead she opted, as she'd known she would, for calling her father's driver. "It's not that the bus isn't... functional," she began slowly.

"But you'd rather swim with children, right?" he finished.

She wrinkled her nose in distaste, something he found absurdly adorable. "Something like that," she allowed. So they'd packed up their stuff and headed toward the boardwalk so she could call her driver and he could catch the next bus home. "Hey, uh, do you want to hit the Dairi Burger for dinner?" she asked before the moment passed them by completely.

He glanced at her. Had Lila Fowler seriously just asked him out? And was he really wasting precious seconds in answering as he tried to figure out whether this was really happening or one of the symptoms of sunstroke? "Sure, yeah!" he said too quickly to ever play off as cool.

Lila smiled and he noticed this wasn't the same smile he saw all too often on her face at school. This one was real and maybe a little too wide to be considered perfect, but gorgeous all the same. "Great! So..."

"Seven?" he offered, giving them both time to talk themselves out of this, whatever _this_ happened to be.

Lila cocked her head to the side and thought before agreeing. "Okay. Do you mind if my driver takes us?"

Ken was surprised she'd even asked. Until today he would have thought she'd have insisted no matter what he wanted. "No, I don't mind. I think your ride's here. I guess I'll see you later?"

Lila flashed him another blinding smile and, before either knew what was happening, she leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. "See you at seven, Ken."

 

"I didn't know they were letting _freshmen_ into the Dairi Burger."

Lila felt her shoulders lock at the sound of that grating voice she knew all too well. "Can it, Bruce. We're not freshmen anymore, just like you're not a sophomore. So if the DB could let the likes of you in..." she shot back.

Of course they'd run into Bruce Patman. He was the only person on the planet who could drive her so crazy so quickly. Everything he said and did annoyed her and it didn't help that he went out of his way to vex her. People who didn't know them well tended to think they'd get along well considering how much they seemed to have in common. As far as Lila was concerned, the only thing they had in common was that they were both rich. Bruce treated everyone as if they were beneath him and took a special delight in reminding Lila that the Patmans were old money while Lila's father had the audacity to have earned his millions.

Bruce sauntered over to the booth Ken and Lila had claimed. "Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" he chuckled. "Is this little Kenny Matthews?"

Lila saw Ken's jaw tighten for a millisecond before relaxing. He forced a smile that still seemed effortless. "We all have to grow up sometime, Bruce," he said.

"Not Bruce. He's been this way since birth," Lila chimed in with a sunny smile all her own.

Bruce scowled. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you freshmen," he snarled and then stalked off.

"Jerk," Lila muttered after he was gone.

Ken wolfed down a handful of french fries before saying anything. "He is, yes. But he's got a thing for you," he finally offered. He didn't know why he'd said that, other than it was something pretty much the entire population of SV had figured out long ago. Eventually Bruce and Lila would figure it out for themselves. Ken was just hoping that wouldn't be for a long time, or if he couldn't put it off until they were eighty or so, maybe Lila wouldn't be interested... because she was interested in someone else. Like Ken.

Lila crinkled her nose in distaste. "You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."

Ken popped a straw in her milkshake and passed it to her. "Nope. He's got it bad."

"Oh, my god," she moaned.

Ken shrugged and dug into his burger. "Yeah, well..." Stupid! he thought. Why had he gone there? Now Lila would be entertaining the thought of Bruce and Ken knew he couldn't compete with that. Bruce was older, richer, and much better looking. Always had been. Ken was just a bit of a novelty considering he'd actually changed whereas Bruce would probably always be... Bruce.

Lila watched Ken seem to fold in on himself a bit. Huh. He actually thought Bruce was competition, she mused. She snagged one of Ken's fries from the rapidly dwindling pile. "So, earlier you said this was your first day off all summer. Did you get a job or something?"

Ken looked up from his food and noticed that Lila was eating off his plate, something he wasn't sure she ever did for anyone, and that she actually seemed to be interested. Maybe he still had a shot after all. A small smile spread across his face. "I'm fifteen, Lila. I can't get a job, yet. But," he hurried to add before she could think he was making fun of her, "I do have football practice."

"Every day?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not Sundays, but that's when my parents force me to spend 'quality' time with them. Which is really just code for Dad having me do all the chores he doesn't want to do," he smirked.

Lila tried to quash the surge of jealousy she felt whenever someone mentioned spending time with their parents. Besides, who really wanted to spend the day cutting the lawn or picking up trash or whatever it is that families without servants did together? "Must be nice," she said softly. "The football, I mean," she hastened to add.

Ken laughed loudly, and normally Lila would have taken offense to being laughed at, but for a moment all she could do was stare at the way he didn't seem to care that he looked a little doofy laughing like that in public. Or the way his eyes found hers when he settled down and she knew, somehow, that he'd caught what she'd really meant.

"Football is great, but you try playing in this heat, all day every day," he grumbled good-naturedly. "It's what I've wanted for so long, you know? But it's still a lot of work."

"Well, whatever it is your coach is having you do, it's working."

His blue eyes sparkled when he smiled she noticed. "You think?"

"I do. You're more confident. You stood up to Bruce and you seem... different. And no, I don't mean all... this," she said, gesturing to him, knowing he'd understand. "Though that doesn't hurt."

Ken felt himself start to turn red. While he'd never been ugly (though thirteen had not been pretty when his face spent the whole year resembling a pizza), he had been shorter than every other guy in their class. Girls did not tend to like to look down at their dates and his friendships with class clown Winston, and pretty boy Todd Wilkins had not exactly made things easier on him. Girls wanted to date Todd or they saw Ken as a joke, much as they saw skinny Winston as a joke. So having Lila point out that this wasn't going to be an issue made him a little uncomfortable.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

 

 

"And now for something a little different. You might know these guys if you go to Sweet Valley High, but for the first time this summer, may I present Sweet Valley's own band, The Droids!" The crowd applauded enthusiastically as the band launched right into their first song. Lila nodded her head in time to the beat and just as she turned to Ken he asked, "Wanna dance?"

"Always."

 

The Droids played three more fast numbers before throwing in a slow ballad that showcased Dana's throaty voice. "Wow, they're really good," Lila murmured as they cautiously put their arms around one another. The problem with slow dancing, Lila thought, was that if you really were interested in someone, you'd find out pretty quickly if they felt the same way. Problem was, they could tell if you were interested, too, if they paid attention. There was no hiding the way her pulse refused to slow in time with the music because Ken's arms were wrapped around her waist.

 

"This is going to sound like such a cliché, but I don't want the night to end," Lila whispered as she and Ken stood on the deck of the Beach Disco. They were waiting for Lila's driver to pick them up and instead of ending their date inside among the crowd; they'd decided to wait outside.

Ken pulled her close. "Neither do I," he whispered back. He never expected this to have happened when he woke up this morning. He looked down at Lila's upturned face, marveling at the difference in her today. She was softer, somehow, less jaded or maybe just... happier? Whatever it was, Ken didn't want to dwell too much on it. Instead, his lips found hers in the kiss they'd been waiting for ever since their dip in the ocean.

Even though she'd been hoping for a kiss, she was still surprised by how her heart stopped momentarily before kicking into high gear. With one hand she pulled him closer and the other rested on his chest, just above his heart, which was racing just as fast as her own.

Suddenly the summer didn't seem nearly long enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [LuxKen27](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LuxKen27)'s summer mini challenge back in 2011.
> 
> Lila and Ken are presented as this odd non-couple at the start of SVH. Ken is Lila's default date when she doesn't have a "real" date and even when she goes out of her way to ruin Ms. Dalton (who Ken happens to have quite the crush on), Ken almost immediately forgives her. SVC makes Lila/Ken an endgame couple and I started to wonder where the whole Lila/Ken 'ship started.


End file.
